In Stitches
by Flame-Hazel-18
Summary: Blaine and Kurt broke up after high school and set out on separate career paths. A few nights after Kurt leaves, Blaine gets drunk and goes home with a girl, resulting in a daughter nine months later. Things go wrong, and Blaine, thinking all is lost, finds that the things you love come back to you in the strangest of ways.
1. Chapter 1

"_I just don't see how this could work… With me there and you here… It's a whole year Blaine!"_

Blaine held his tears in his eyes, taking another swig from the bottle. He had cried enough in the last week, it was time to do something. Anything. But Blaine felt dead inside, and must have looked it too. The bouncer hadn't even asked for an ID when he walked in. Good thing…He didn't have one.

"_But we were going to try. Give it a chance, it could work! You don't know!"_

"_But I do no…What are we doing Blaine? We're kidding ourselves here…"_

He could barely hear the music, or the people talking around him. Laughing, dancing, having fun…They did not belong in the same world together.

"_You promised…You promised you would never say goodbye to me…"_

"_Things change."_

Blaine stumbled to his feet, slamming the bottle on the table so hard it broke. The girls next to him screamed and the bar tender tried to grab his upper arm.

"Hey buddy…What's–?" Blaine yanked out of his grasp.

"Screw this! Screw…All of this!" His words were slurred but understandable. He walked to the other side of the bar where a girl sat alone. She was pretty. Long, silky red hair and piercing blue eyes. A slim build met with a short black skirt and a low-cut shimmery top.

The girl straightened up. She'd been eying the dark-haired stranger all night. Evidently he had finally noticed her too.

Blaine held his hand out to the girl as he approached her, much to the dismay of a few other girls nearby. "Wanna dance?"

She smiled mischievously, and allowed herself to be led out on to the dance floor.

* * *

Piercing sunlight assaulted Blaine through his closed eyelids. His head pounded. He reached for the extra pillow he kept next to his bed for Kurt, but came up empty. He eyes shot open, pupils protesting the brightness. Kurt, bar, dancing… He looked around at the unfamiliar room, and saw the redhead lying next to him. He couldn't name the emotion that washed over him as his memories came back through the drunken haze.

_What the hell did I do?_

Blaine got out of bed. Deciding that the women whose bed he slept in deserved an explanation, not just an empty apartment. He wandered around, finding the kitchen with ease in the small area. He opened the fridge and pulled out a box of eggs, quietly searching for a frying pan. He wondered if she had ever had a man make her breakfast after the first sleep over.

He also wondered if she'd ever been a broken-hearted gay man's rebound.

He tried to remember what had happened last night. The women had introduced herself on the dance-floor… Claire. She was undeniably beautiful.

_Just not quite my type._

Blaine remembered asking him to go home with her. He was too drunk and out of it to say no. The rest of the night was gone, whether he couldn't remember it, or just didn't want to.

* * *

The smell of cooking food woke Claire from her hung-over slumber. It was so odd, nothing ever got cooked in her apartment unless her parents were in town. The men she brought home never cooked for her. Most didn't even have the decency to leave a note when they took off in the morning. But this guy…Was different to say the least. She rubbed her eyes and sat up, groaning as she remembered everything that had happened after she had brought Blaine up to her apartment. This was just too much for her.

She pulled on a robe and shuffled into the kitchen, her stomach over-powering the rest of her. Blaine was as expressionless sober as he was drunk. She looked over the counter at the food he was preparing.

He gestured vaguely to it. "I was going to make you an omelet, but you didn't have vegetables or anything. So it's just swiss cheese…"

"Thanks," she forced a smile as he handed her the plate and followed her to the table. He hadn't made anything for himself. She stared at him as she waited for him to talk.

"Look," he said finally, not meeting her gaze. "I shouldn't have gone home with you last night. I'm not really…. I'm not… I'm gay."

"I know." Claire replied simply. Blaine blanched, furrowing his eyebrows.

"How–?"

"Last night…You don't remember do you?" He shook his head. "When we were…You know…You kept calling me Kurt. I thought you were just really drunk. But then you started crying after…You were really a mess." She said sadly.

Blaine looked up at her then. His eyes flashing through many emotions; and Claire was surprised by the emotion he settled on.

He started laughing.

Not quite laughing…Screaming in demonic delight. Claire jumped back as his hyena noises grew in volume.

He took deep breaths as tears slid down his reddened face. "Oh my god." He choked and stopped laughing, frowning deeply. "That was so inappropriate. I'm so sorry."

She continued to stare at him, and she too got the ridiculous urge to laugh as well. _What the hell._ She thought, _I just had possibly the most ridiculous night of my life. Might as well start laughing about it now._

And that was exactly what she did.

And they laughed together. Laughed until they were both sobbing.

"That was probably the worst night of your life." Blaine gasped.

"Not quite." Claire replied between fits of giggles. "But it was definitely up there."

"Oh my god," Blaine wiped his eyes and cheeks. "I'd say I was sorry, but I don't think that could even begin to cover this."

Claire's breathing began to regulate, and she smiled at Blaine. "Well you can start to make it up to me. I'll get dressed and you, sir, can buy me coffee."

* * *

_3 Months Later_

Claire opened Blaine's door with the key he gave her and balanced the two coffee's in her hand. She flipped on the lights in Blaine's bedroom and sat down next to him.

"Blaine. Blaine. Blaine. Hey, Blaine. Blaine wake up." She poked him every time she said his name. He grabbed a pillow and smacked her in the face with it, moaning something into his mattress.

"Hey mister, we have a date today. And I am _not_ taking you out in public with that kind of attitude." Claire started pulling on his untamed curls. "Or with that hair."

"Why did I ever give you a key?" Blaine groaned, rubbing his eyes.

"Because I'm fabulous and you love me!"

"I must…Seeing that it is eight in the morning and because of you, I am now awake."

Claire was silent, and her face broke out into a sweat. Blaine sat up quickly, putting a hand on her back. "Claire?"

She jumped off the bed and ran across Blaine's apartment to the bathroom and began retching into the toilet. Blaine came to her aid and held her hair back while she vomited violently in the tiny bathroom. When the heaving subsided, Blaine began to rub her shoulders, trying to calm her down. He wanted to ask her something, but he wasn't sure how. He mulled it over, biting the inside of his cheek, and decided he had to say something.

"Claire, this is the second time this has happened."

No response.

"Claire we need to talk about this."

No response.

Blaine leaned forward so he could look at her.

"I was going to talk to you today." She whispered, her voice hoarse and barely audible. There were tears in her eyes threatening to spill over onto her pale face. Her eyes met his, burning behind her lashes, and Blaine knew. She didn't have to say anything more, but she did.

"I took the test last night."

And then there were tears, from both of them. But Blaine knew he had to be strong. He held Claire's hand while she sobbed into his chest; he had no idea what else to do. How did someone prepare for something like this? How were they supposed to deal with it? It wasn't like there was a guide book for how a straight girl and her gay best friend were supposed to raise a baby together.

Blaine closed his eyes. He was going to be a senior in high school. She was 23. He wanted to scream. To kick himself over and over and to go back and fix everything. But he couldn't. All other thoughts drained from his mind, one coming to the fore-front where Blaine could agonize over it.

_How the hell did I let this happen?_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who read, reviewed, alerted, and favorited! Sorry for the delay between posts, but I doubt there be an actual schedule of how often I post. It will probably be fairly helter-skelter. Thanks for reading!**

* * *

Blaine's eyes were growing weary of the artificial light of his laptop, but he couldn't stop. _Scrolling… Scrolling…_ Internet shopping was his drug. He was officially owned by Amazon.

As he audibly gushed over yet another baby crib, he decided to call Claire and get her input. If this was left up to him, they would be bankrupt in under an hour. As the phone rang he continued to click through pictures of designer diaper bags. _Being a pregnant woman would be totally worth it to be able to carry around that Coach bag after the baby was born. _He smiled to himself at the thought of it. _What did Kurt always tell me about Coach products though?_ Blaine's smile evaporated as he thought of Kurt. He had had more than enough distractions as of late, but when he was falling asleep, he missed Kurt more than anything. Missed the way that Kurt smiled when they first saw each other in the morning. Missed the way he obsessed over his hair being absolutely perfect. The way he dressed and the way he had held his hand. Blaine shook himself as Claire answered the phone, not wanting his voice to betray his pain.

"Hello?" Claire said, her voice cracking. Blaine briefly wondered if he had woken her, and noted that most people were not like him and did not stay up on the computer all hours of the night.

"Hey," Blaine said softly. "So I was wondering about how much you were thinking of spending on different things for the baby. Because I found this…"

"Blaine," Claire cut him off, and he realized her gruff voice had nothing to do with sleep as he heard her sniffle over the phone.

"Blaine I… I talked to my p-parents." She whispered, a sharp intake of air giving her away. Blaine knew the end of the story already. Exactly like they expected.

"They… They don't want… Anything to do with the baby. Or anything to do with me. They said that… They said that…" She squeaked out a few more gibberish syllables and dissolved into sobs. Blaine tried to comfort her. He knew that her parents wouldn't want the baby, or Blaine, or any of the other consequences that came along with a situation such as this. And he had prepared himself to deal with it and to help Claire. But now that it was time to hold her together, he realized he had no idea what he was doing. He was flailing as much as she was.

Blaine knew his parents would be no help what-so-ever. They paid the rent at his apartment as long as he never tried to interact with them. His parents were usually on trips or working or doing whatever the hell they could to stay away from him. Almost as though they thought he could pass his homosexuality onto them. Like how children in elementary school treated cooties. He never really missed them. He couldn't remember them ever being loving or supportive or any type of parent that he could look back on and wish he had now. But he did ache for support. For someone to love him like a parent should; or how he thought a parent should.

Blaine talked Claire through her entire conversation with her parents. It had started of innocently enough: "Hi, how are you? What have you been up to? How's college?" But when Claire had revealed to them everything that had happened in the four months since she met Blaine, a divide was formed between them. An unbearable, resounding silence broken finally by Claire's mother, telling her that they wanted no part in the child's life. And if Claire did not come to her senses and terminate the pregnancy or put the baby up for adoption, that she was not to contact them again.

"Blaine…" She said between sobs. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know." He told her, because honestly, he didn't have a clue either. When Claire found out about the baby, she had decided to discontinue her classes at Ohio State where she was working to get a teaching degree until she got back on her feet. She took a job as a checkout girl in a supermarket, seeing as hardly anyone was hiring. And Blaine had found his schedule increasingly more difficult as he struggled with his senior year of high school, his job as a waiter at a local restaurant, and giving vocal lessons to kids on the weekends for extra money. Claire was in the process of vacating her apartment to come live with Blaine to save the rent money. But who knew if Blaine's parents would continue paying for the apartment when they found out what was going on.

Blaine stayed on the line in silence as Claire hiccuped herself to sleep, hanging up only when he was sure he wouldn't wake her. His laptop had long since shut off from not being used. He crawled into his bed and lay on top of the covers, staring at the ceiling. As far as he and Claire were concerned, abortion and adoption weren't options. They were keeping the child, and they would do everything it took to give that kid a damn good life. Still, Blaine couldn't help but have doubts. So many doubts…How would he and Claire ever explain the situation to future boyfriends?

The thought of Blaine having a future boyfriend knocked the wind out of him. Wasn't he supposed to want to move on? Find someone to love him…Forever.

"No," he whispered to himself. He didn't want to move on. Because even if he was hurting, at least he felt _something._ Timelines blurred together the months and years of numbness before he met Kurt. But now as he looked back, he shivered at the possibility that the only time he could remember feeling happy could all have been a lie. Kurt had said after his first year at NYADA, he would come back and they could "sort things out". But the odds of Kurt not meeting someone between now and then were zero. Kurt was so perfect. So imperfect Blaine felt like every bone in his body was aching with the pain of missing him. Missing holding him, kissing him, feeling his warmth and seeing his smile.

Blaine curled into a ball, holding his knees to his chest to prevent himself from falling to pieces. He fell into a fitful sleep, haunted by dreams of love…and happiness…and waking up.

* * *

_One Month Later_

"We're just going to check to make sure everything's okay. This is going to be a little cold." Blaine felt Claire's hold on his hand tighten as the gel was applied to her swelling stomach. After a moment, a heartbeat was heard and the doctor told them the baby was growing perfectly so far. Blaine kissed Claire's hand as relief flooded over her face.

"Would you like to know the gender?"

"Yes, please." Claire replied, catching Blaine's gaze.

The doctor smiled. "It's a baby girl."

* * *

_Four Months Later_

_(March 9th, 2013)_

Blaine excused himself from a lecture in his math class as his phone vibrated repeatedly in his pocket. Claire's name was on his caller ID and he knew it was time.

"I'll be right there." He said immediately, hearing Claire yelling at doctors and wanting to be in charge, per usual. He hung up and ran to the parking lot, going through McKinley's back hallways so he could be undetected. The drive to the hospital was a blur of green lights and ignored red ones.

"Claire Stinson?" He said out of breath to the woman at the front desk.

"Second floor. Third hallway to the right, through the green doors." She said after consulting her chart. Blaine took off again. "Room 14!" She yelled after him.

When he got to Claire's room, she was in the middle of a contraction, screaming loudly and red-faced. When she saw Blaine something in her eyes relaxed, though her pain continued. She had opted to give birth to their baby girl without medication. Blaine thought she was regretting that right about now.

The next few hours passed in leaps and bounds and minutes between contractions. Until the doctor said: "Okay Claire, just give us one more push!"

Blaine stood by the head of Claire's bed, not wanting to be too close to the actual birth. The start of a life was beautiful and everything, but he didn't really need to see every gory detail.

And then Claire's body relaxed a little, and they heard a cry come from the tiny, slimy human Claire had just given birth to. Blaine wanted to pass out when he saw how big their daughter was, and wondered if a woman could come back from something like that. But when the doctors handed the baby to Claire, all thoughts left Blaine's head, and he just stared into her big, hazel eyes like staring into a mirror. She had big ears like Claire and long, dark eyelashes. Dark fuzz covered her head, and Blaine silently prayed her hair wouldn't be as curly as his, or she would be in for a rough life.

"Hi baby girl," Claire cooed. Blaine smiled and held her little hand between two of his fingers. She grabbed onto his pointer finger and squeezed, and he felt heat pressing up behind his eyelids.

"Do you have a name picked out?" asked the female doctor who had delivered the baby.

"Ava Marie," they said together. The doctor smiled.

"You two are a cute couple. Are you married?" Blaine and Claire looked at each other, taking humor in the fact that yet another person mistook their relationship.

"No," Blaine said simply, not wanting to have this discussion with another stranger. The doctor smiled at them as she was leaving the room and poked her head back in for one final thought.

"You seem like really loving parents. She's such a beautiful baby."

"We know."

* * *

_11 Months Later_

_(February 26th, 2014)_

Claire slept on the floor of the living room while Ava sat in Blaine's lap, watching Tom and Jerry. Blaine had always loved that show, and Ava smiled and laughed the entire time she watched the show. He was so glad that it made her happy. He and Claire were doing everything they could but were still struggling to keep their heads above the water. Claire had been taking online classes so she could work and take care of Ava, and in the fall Blaine would be taking a light course load at Ohio State, his major still undecided. Blaine's parents had stopped paying the rent when they found out about Claire so there wasn't much spare cash left around.

Blaine's eyes trailed up to the clock above the TV in the main room that also served as Ava's room for the time being. Blaine decided it was time to make lunch, so he put Ava on the floor and laid down next to her.

"Whadaya say we wake Mommy up and get her to feed us?" Blaine crawled across the floor and expected Ava to follow, but what occurred had him screaming for Claire to wake up.

Claire rubbed her eyes and rolled over, and saw her baby up on her own two legs, wobbling across the room to her.

"Claire she's walking!"

"I can see that! Come here sweetie! Oh my god." Ava tumbled into her arms, eyes glittering as she her tinkling laughs filled the room.

* * *

_2 Months Later_

_(April 14th, 2014)_

_Break me down and build me up again,_

_I can take it, the remaking_

_The more we know, the less we understand_

_So live the rebound, welcome to breakdown…_

Blaine held Ava in his arms as he danced around the tiny kitchen. Claire was sitting at the table, watching their progress as she waited for her date to pick her up for lunch. Blaine was supposed to watch Ava until Claire got home and then head to McKinley to watch this year's New Directions perform. Blaine continued singing, making the faces he knew made Ava laughed. And laugh she did. Until…

"Daddy…" She said between giggles. Everything in the kitchen froze. Claire's face was a mix of joy and confusion. The shock on Blaine's face gave him the appearance of just being smacked. Then they both jumped into action. Claire was by Blaine's side, he was stroking Ava's hair.

"Daddy!" She said again, a dazzling smile gracing her mouth. "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!"

* * *

_Four Years Later_

_(September 4th, 2018)_

"Bye, Mommy! Bye, Daddy! I love you!" Ava yelled back to them as she walked into the classroom. Her first day of school. First day of kindergarten. Blaine and Claire stood in the hallway with the other parents. They were already eliciting looks of disproval, seeing as they were by far the youngest parents around. Claire's eyebrows furrowed a little and she seemed to shrink under their glares.

"Just wait 'til they find out I'm gay," Blaine whispered into her ear. Claire snorted. They both waved to Ava as she turned around yet again to wave.

"She's cute," said a woman directly next to them. She was smiling at them warmly. She was also alone, and though she was older than Claire and Blaine, she also appeared quite young. She pointed into the room at a little blonde boy a few feet from Ava. "That's my son, Mark. He's quite shy."

As if on cue, Ava smiled brightly at him, and attempted to engage him in conversation. The woman smiled too.

"Well, our daughter, Ava, is anything but." Claire laughed, continuing the conversation with the woman, whose name they learned was Sarah. They ended up leaving the school together, planning to get coffee before going back to pick up their children. Blaine smiled, _maybe this won't be so bad after all._

* * *

_One Year Later_

_(August 16, 2019)_

"Please, Mommy! Summer is almost over! I want to learn before I start school! Mark can ride a bike without training wheels! I don't want to be the _only one_ in my whole class who can't ride a bike!" Ava had mastered all of her father's dramatics. Her pouting features half-hidden by her dark, bouncing curls. They were nowhere near as out of control as Blaine's, and they fit her exuberant personality quite well.

Claire sighed, "Okay. We'll be out in a minute."

Ava took off for the door. They had all three finally moved into a small house in a friendly neighborhood. Blaine now gave guitar, piano, and vocal lessons full time at an old, rundown restaurant they had spent a majority of the past year fixing up. Claire taught ninth grade English at McKinley. They weren't rich, but they got by comfortably. And Ava was happy living next to her best friend, Mark.

"Blaine, I need you!" Claire called upstairs. She checked her watch. She had about an hour before she had to get ready for her date. It was her and Austin's one year anniversary, and he had hinted about popping the question. Claire was nervous. There were so many issues ahead. Austin had been surprisingly okay with Claire's situation and had even met Ava several times. Ava adored him, and Claire was waiting for the right moment to sit Ava down and talk to her all about Blaine and their family. She wondered how much Ava already knew. She was still so young, but they didn't want Ava to hear things from other students that might upset her.

Blaine rushed down the stairs, his reading glasses on and his hands full of sheet music. "What's up?"

"Ava is insisting we take her bike riding _again _or she could just _die_ of embarrassment due to her training wheels."

Blaine snorted. "Quite the little drama queen we have."

"I fully blame you for that." Claire followed him out of the house and watched him help Ava up onto her bike.

"Okay, little lady." Blaine said as he fastened her helmet. "Are you ready to go?"

Ava nodded violently, causing the helmet to slip. They all laughed as she adjusted it so she could see, and off they went. Blaine running to keep up with the bike until he finally let go, still keeping up with her in case she fell.

"You're doing it sweetie! All by yourself!" Claire yelled to her, jogging to catch up. Ava cheered, but looked to have no intention of stopping. They watched her ride down the sidewalk, happy as could be.

Blaine sighed, "What happened to our baby?"

Claire's eyes were misty. "I don't know."

* * *

_One Month Later_

_(September 6th, 2019)_

Claire got out of the passenger side of the car, opening the door for Ava and helping her in. It was Friday, and they were taking Ava to the park and to dinner to celebrate her starting first grade.

"Hi baby, how was school?" Blaine said as Claire got back in. Ava was biting her lip.

"Fine," she said weakly. Blaine and Claire exchanged a look in the front seat as Blaine started the car, heading for the park just around the corner.

Usually, Blaine and Claire didn't push Ava. They tried not to nag her because she was typically quite open about what was bothering her. But after a completely silent, four minute car ride, Claire picked Ava up out of the back seat, and carried her to a park bench with them.

"What's wrong, sweetie?"

Ava was silently for a few more moments, then she finally made eye-contact with Claire.

"You remember last week? When… When you told me you and Austin were getting married?"

Claire tensed. "Of course I do…"

"Well… Why aren't you and Daddy married?" Blaine tried to reply, but they had opened a dam. Everything came spilling out of Ava almost faster than they could process it.

"Because Anna's parents are married, and they live together with her. And Anna said that her mommy said that they loved each other and that's why they got Anna. But you guys aren't married. And Mark's mommy and daddy aren't married either, but they don't live together, and Mark says they hate each other and that they fight a lot… But you and Daddy don't fight. And you don't… You don't hate each other, do you?" Ava's eyes were wide and she gasped for air, having completely run out the air in her lungs.

"No, honey. No," Claire took Ava's hand and spoke gently to her. "You're Daddy and I don't hate each other. We love each other very much. And when we found out that we were getting you, we were so excited. We're still you're parents though, even if we're not like Anna's mommy and daddy." Claire looked to Blaine, wondering if she should continue. Ava made the decision for them.

"But… But you don't… You don't hold hands and stuff like the other parents do. And Scottie… Scottie told me…" Blaine held his breath, wishing with all of his being that he didn't know what Ava was going to say.

"Scottie told me his daddy said Daddy was a fag… Daddy what does that mean?" Claire was shocked, but she looked to Blaine, and he just looked upset.

"Sweetie that's… That's not a very nice word. And I know you didn't know what it meant and it's okay but… But don't use it anymore, alright?" Ava nodded. Blaine continued, trying to hide the pain in his voice.

"Do you remember the other night, when we watched _Cinderella_? And she went to the ball and she fell in love with Prince Charming?" Ava smiled and nodded again. "Well… That word Scottie's dad said… It's… It's a really mean way to talk about another prince who could fall in love with Prince Charming. Do you understand?"

"I think so…" Ava said. "But why is Scottie's daddy mean about you liking Prince Charming… I like Prince Charming!"

Blaine rubbed his hand on the back of his neck. "Some people… Some people think that it's only okay for princesses to fall in love with princes. Some people think it's not okay for princes to fall in love with other princes, or princesses to fall in love with princesses. Do you still understand?"

"Mhmm… So is that why you and Mommy aren't married? Because you fell in love with a prince, and Mommy fell in love with a different prince?"

Blaine couldn't help but smile at Ava's childish explanations, how it was all so simple to her. "Well I haven't found my prince yet, but Austin is Mommy's prince. And someday you'll find your prince or princess too, sweetie. And I'll find mine and we'll all be a big royal family." Ava laughed, jumped up in Blaine's lap and hugged him. He kissed her on the cheek and she ran off to play on the playground. He realized as he watched her run away that saying that he hadn't found his prince was the very first outright lie he had ever told her. He had found his prince in high school, if only Kurt had seen it that way…

Claire put an arm around Blaine's shoulders, saying everything Blaine needed to hear and giving him the silence he wanted to retreat into all at the same time.

"If only it was always going to be that easy." He said, his held back tears finally beginning to fall.

"She's tough though, like you. She'll make it through."

Blaine felt his heart grow a little lighter. He knew she was right.

* * *

_Three Days Later_

_(September 9th, 2019)_

Blaine sat playing the upright piano he gave lessons on, waiting around until it was time to pick Ava up from school. His lesson for the afternoon had cancelled, so he entertained himself with his own music.

_I still have trouble_

_I trip and stumble_

_Tryin' to make sense of things sometimes._

_I look for reasons, but I don't need em'_

_All I need is to look in your eyes…_

He stopped the music as his phone began buzzing on the seat next to him. He answered, distractedly, writing down a few more verses on his already cluttered note sheet.

"Hey, Claire…" He mumbled.

"Blaine? Do you have a lesson right now?"

"No, I'm free all afternoon. Aren't you teaching class right now?"

"That's the problem, I'm in the hallway. I got a call from Ava's school. Apparently there was some kind of… Confrontation? Anyway they need a parent or guardian and I can't go down there right now. Can you?"

"Sure I'll go right now."

Blaine hung up and locked the front door to the studio. The entire drive to the school, he wondered what could have happened. Scenarios chased logical thoughts from his mind, each one growing more grim until he finally got to the school.

He entered the building, and saw Ava sitting on the bench outside of the main office. Her face perked up into a smile when she saw him. "Daddy!" Blaine hugged her and looked her over. She seemed fine, void of blood or bruises. Ava had started the fight?

"Sweetie, what happened?" Blaine said, worry lines creasing his forehead.

"If you'll come into my office, Mr. Anderson, we can talk about that."

Blaine bristled. "Hello, Mr. Scott." He and Claire had already had an uncomfortable run-in with the principal over their family situation. Claire had been livid over his obvious disproval of their lives, but Blaine had grown to expect. They lived in Lima, Ohio after all, when did they ever catch a break?

Ava grabbed Blaine's hand as the trekked into the office. Instead of sitting in the second chair across from the principal, she climbed up in Blaine's lap.

"I was informed that today, during class, Ava had a verbal confrontation with another student. The fight resulted in physical violence on Ava's part. I have been told Ava hit the other boy in the face. This kind of action will not be tolerated in this school." Blaine gaped at Ava.

She shrugged, looking completely unapologetic. She stared down the principal. "He used a bad word about my Daddy. Again."

"Ava honey, can you go wait in the hall?" Ava jumped out of Blaine's lap and wandered back out of the office.

Blaine shifted his attention to the principal, vicious tension growing in the small, dark room

"What happened to the other boy?"

"We cleaned him up and sent him back to class."

Blaine blanched. "He wasn't punished?"

"He wasn't the one who punched a classmate."

"He has used an extremely offensive slur directed at my family repeatedly. Doesn't that warrant some kind of reprimanding?"

"No one heard him say it. There's no proof he did any such thing." The principal seemed to take pleasure in the anger twisting Blaine's complexion.

Blaine snorted. "Alright well, I think we're done here. I'll be taking Ava home for the rest of the day." He said, and walked out of the office, ignoring the other man's irritated protests.

Ava was sitting with her knees pressed to her chest in the hallway.

"Come on, little lady, we're going out to lunch."

Ava looked shocked. "Aren't… Aren't I in trouble?"

Blaine knelt down next to her. "Nah, not this time. Just don't hit anyone again, okay? Only if they really, really deserve it."He winked at her and she laughed.

"I'll get my stuff!" She bounced down the hallway back to her class.

Blaine leaned against the wall, not able to stop a few tears from falling down his face. She was six years old. She was just a child. Blaine wanted to punch himself in the face for everything she would have to live through. All of the hatred and anger. It was so unfair. She was born into that lifestyle as much as he was, with a little of a choice as he had. He tried to gather himself as he caught as glimpse of Ava's curls.

"Daddy why are you crying? It'll be okay. I won't hit anyone anymore, I promise."

"Oh Ava, it's not that. I'm crying because I'm so happy. You know why?"

Ava shook her head quickly.

"I'm happy because I have the best little girl in the whole entire world."

Ava giggled. "You have to say that/"

"Do wanna hear a secret?" Ava's eyes lit up and she leaned in closer, excited that she was going to hear a little snippet of knowledge that would remain between her and her father.

"All of the other parents have to say that. I'm the only one who gets to mean it!" Ava's smile was blinding, and Blaine picked her up and put her on his shoulders.

"Daddy?" Ava asked after a moment.

"Hmm?"

"Since… Since you haven't found a prince yet, can… Can I be a princess until you get one?" She sounded so serious, like it was the most important thing in the world.

Blaine turned his head back to look up at Ava. "Ava Marie Stinson. I promise that no matter if I find a prince or not, no matter how old you get, you will always, _always_ be my little princess."

* * *

_Three Years Later_

_(December 1st, 2022)_

"I'm very sorry." Blaine felt his heart split in two. Claire felt like the silence in the room was suffocating her. Her eyes trailed to Ava playing in the next room with other children, her left hand twitching every once in a while.

"It's fairly early on. If we're aggressive, there's a good chance we can get it all without too much damage."

Blaine looked at his little girl, tears making her blurry. He didn't want there to be any damage. She was nine. She was still so young.

"We need to make a decision quickly. Seeing as this hospital doesn't have the doctors or equipment to handle Ava's tumor, should you decide to have the surgery, she would be taken to a pediatric hospital that just opened last year. It's right outside of New York City and it has the best technology, which is essential when dealing with neurological surgery. There are several doctors there who are excellent surgeons."

Blaine's hand found Claire's, he squeezed it, though he wasn't sure if he was try to reassure her, or himself.

"We could fly you out there tonight."

Claire caught Blaine's eye, and nodded a little.

"Alright. Let's go to New York."

* * *

**A/N: I promise all you Klaine lovers that Kurt will enter the story very soon! Probably next chapter, but if not then definitely th****e next one!**

**And now I would like to ask for all of your help! This story is going to have a lot of characters with small parts and so if you have a name you want me to use, I would love to hear from you. Shoot me a review or PM with a name (first, last, or both) and I'll do my best to use it! Also, I'm going to need a few characters with somewhat of back ground stories, so if you want to include things like physical description, personality, sexual orientation, relationship status and the like, it would be appreciated! I will also give a shout out to anyone who submits a name or character I use! Thanks for reading!  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Alright everyone just a quick reminder I'm still looking for names for characters! Thanks to those who have responded, your character's and name's will be showing up soon!**

**Also, I forgot to mention in the last chapter the songs were Welcome to the Breakdown by I Fight Dragons and Not Alone by Darren Criss from A Very Potter Musical.  
**

**Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing!  
**

* * *

"Ava, sweetie, we need to talk to you about something." Claire sat down next to Ava on the colorful carpet of the children's waiting room. Blaine sat in a chair directly in front of them, looking down at his feet.

"Ava we… We're going away tonight. We're going to New York." Ava perked up, eyes shining, though she looked very confused.

"We're going there because they have another hospital there. It's just for kids though. You have to go there to… To have a surgery because… Because you're sick. And we want you to get better."

Ava looked thoughtfully at her hand, twitching where it lay lazily across my lap.

"Will it fix my h-hand? And my headache? And m-my stutter?" She asked. Blaine's mind flying back to when the symptoms had started. Why hadn't they known?

"_Mommy? Daddy?" Ava whispered as she crept down the stairs to the living room. Blaine sat in the recliner, Austin and Claire on the couch as the announcer of the football game droned quietly from the television._

"_What's wrong, Ava? Did you have a nightmare?" Blaine asked, spinning in the chair to look at her._

"_No, my head hurts." Ava whispered, the television light illuminating tear-trails on her face._

_Claire jumped off the couch. "I'll get you some water and Tylenol."_

That wasn't the only time she had complained of a headache. It had happened almost every other day for several months. The children's drugs didn't work, so they took her to an optometrist to see if she was straining her eyes and causing herself headaches. Everyone told them that there was nothing wrong. _No shit,_ Blaine thought, _and how about now? Is she still 'perfectly fine' now?_

The twitch had started about a week before. Blaine and Claire had taken her again to her doctor, who told them she was probably dehydrated and to make her drink water. Then the stutter had started this morning, and Ava fainted at breakfast. They had brought her to the hospital, learning after they got there that Ava didn't even remember fainting… Or most of the morning… A scan of her head had revealed a large growth in her brain.

"Mom?" Ava said, her voice didn't waver, there were no tears, just monotonous acceptance. "Do I have a tumor?"

* * *

Flying to New York. Tests. Hospital rooms. IV's. Doctors. Nurses. Crash carts. Everything was a blur to Blaine, as if he was seeing his life in a slideshow of grainy, unfocused pictures.

But some pictures were clearer than others.

Some words rang louder and truer. Hit faster and harder. Stung greater and longer.

"The cancer has spread down and curled around her spinal cord."

"There is a chance she could end up paralyzed if we proceed."

"There is a greater chance she could die if we don't."

Blaine felt himself receding into his own thoughts, like he always did when the pain got to be too much.

They were at a crossroads really. Just like they always were.

Popcorn or ice cream. Music or movies. Not much life or much more death.

Blaine's thoughts were so scrambled he couldn't tell up from down, life from dreams. But he didn't really want to. He wanted to see a nightmare hiding under his bed, not the ugly truth.

"Blaine? Blaine?" Claire's voice cut through the haze, bringing the sullen Blaine back to the surface of his thoughts.

"I'm…Sorry?" Blaine mumbled, looking between Claire and the doctor.

"We need to make the decision soon. Tonight, if possible. The longer we wait, the higher the risk."

"Thank you," Claire whispered as he walked out of their room. Ava was still having tests run, and the room was suddenly painfully empty. Claire looked at Blaine. "What are we going to do?"

Blaine pinched the bridge of his nose. "Let's just cut the technical bullshit. The chance of survival is higher with the surgery."

"But there's so many risks. She could wake up and never be able to move again. What kind of quality of life is that?"

"What kind of quality of life is being dead?" Claire gasped. He tried to back-track quickly. "No I… I didn't mean that. I shouldn't have said…"

"No you're right… I just d-don't want to hear it. I don't want to b-b-be here." Claire broke down, sinking into Blaine's arms. He held on to her tightly, wishing he had someone to hold him too.

"I know… I know… But we've come _so_ far Claire. We've made it through so much since we met. When we found out you were pregnant, having a home to bring the baby to seemed impossible, but we did it. It's been nine years of "we did it's". This is just one more thing we're going to do. We'll make it, okay?" He murmured gently, he felt her nod into his chest before she pulled away, wiping her eyes.

"Okay," she said. Blaine gripped her hands.

"Okay."

* * *

Blaine couldn't sleep. He couldn't close his eyes. Couldn't move, breathe… He didn't want to. Claire was curled up in the hospital bed, hugging Ava while they both slept, Ava snoring loudly. Blaine nearly smiled, but his grief was dragging him down too far to do anything but breathe; barely even that.

He stood up finally, not being able to sit any longer. He wandered out of the room, careful to shut the door silently. The hallway was empty, the windows revealing that the sun was just barely coming up. Blaine ran his fingers through his unmaintained hair. His curls fell free, unhindered by hair gel. He slid down the wall until he was sprawled out on the floor. Everything was quiet, and he felt all alone. He couldn't handle the quiet, it was pressing in on him. It was squeezing him around the throat and cutting off his air. The only sound in the entire world was of his heartbreaking. And there was only one person he felt like could stop it. One person he couldn't reach; couldn't ever talk to again. Couldn't ever hold again, laugh with again, kiss again. The one person that he would miss always.

But Blaine realized that it was getting easier. It came as a shock to him when he realized how long it had been since he'd thought about that night. And he realized how far he had made it in… Ten years? Had it really been ten years? He had a baby girl, he had a family, so he wasn't really alone.

But he was.

He was alone before Ava even got sick. He was alone because he made it that way. Cut himself off from any man who ever tried to get close to him, all because of one man that had broken his heart. And he never wanted it to happen again.

He pulled out his phone, noting that it was 6:30 in the morning.

_3:30 am in California…_

Blaine had no idea why he thought of it after all this time. A text every once in a while.

_Ava's learning to play guitar!_

_Sarah and I are getting married!_

But it had been years. He didn't know why he'd thought of it, or when he pushed the send button, he was only aware of a dial tone, and a very groggy…

"Hello?"

"Hi, Wes?"

* * *

"Alright… Okay I'll see you… Bye."

Wes rubbed his eyes and hung up the phone, looking over to Sarah, who was watching through her sleep crusted eyes. "What's wrong?"

Wes fumbled for words, trying to explain exactly how important this was to him. "Ava… Blaine's daughter… She… She has a t-tumor. In her brain and spine."

"Shhh. Shhh it's okay." Sarah ran a hand up and down Wes' back, his breathing was short and shallow. Wes and Blaine had a crazy connection. Even though they hadn't seen each other – talked – in years, they were still as much of best friends as they had been in high school. They still felt for each other and cared like brothers.

"They're at a hospital in… In New York…" Wes tried to compose himself, slow his breathing.

Sarah slid off the bed, pulling Wes up with her. He looked quizzically at her.

"Well get dressed! We're going to New York, aren't we?"

* * *

Blaine propped the door open with his hip, two lattes in one hand and a muffin for Ava in the other. Claire pressed a finger to her lips and pointing to Ava in the hospital bed...Sound asleep. That was one thing she could always be counted on for: sleeping anywhere, anytime, all the time. Blaine chuckled a little to himself in spite of everything life had thrown at him lately. He settled into a chair next to Claire, and she crawled over the arm into his lap. She curled up and Blaine stroked her hair as silent tears streamed down her face.

Eventually Claire wiped her eyes and looked up at Blaine. "The doctor was here before you got back," she whispered. "He said he'd come back soon to explain everything to both of us..." She bit her lip, looking like she had something more to say.

"And?"

"He's really... And I think he's... I mean he has to be... His hair! Like damn..."

Blaine gaped at her. "I know you are not saying what I think you're saying because you're not trying to set me up with a doctor. Our daughter's doctor. In New York."

Claire laughed. Laughed so hard her stomach hurt and her eyes started leaking again. She hadn't laughed in so long and it felt so good. Blaine laughed too, loud enough to wake Ava. She stared groggily at her parents, but as a nine year old, she couldn't control her giggles either.

And for a moment, nothing even mattered anymore. It didn't matter Ava had a tumor. Or that Claire and Blaine didn't have money to pay for the surgeries and chemo. Or that they were in a hospital in a strange city. Or how screwed up all of their lives had been for the past decade. It didn't even matter why they were laughing, because it was the best any of them had felt in what seemed like forever.

As the laughter began to die down, Blaine gave Ava the muffin she requested and went to get her a paper towel from the sink in the corner. He was still smiling brightly, sipping his coffee.

* * *

Kurt looked at his watch, quickly signing off on the last of his charts. He had one more family to talk to, then he was off for the night...To go on his date. He stared almost longingly at the doors leading to the ambulance lane, half hoping for a trauma to postpone this night yet again. He had been with Ethan for about a month, but he had been able to tell in about in hour the relationship would go no where. They were going out to dinner and Kurt was finally going to bite the bullet and dump him. He was a great guy, he just wasn't...

Kurt pinched himself, trying to push his dreams back away from the reality in which he had to stay. At least Ethan was gay. At least he stood a chance at winning his heart. But of course, Ethan's was not the heart he wanted.

Kurt mentally slapped himself again. 'No more thinking about the past. Move forward.' Kurt was going to tell the parents of a sweet, nine year old that the survival rate of her surgery was about 50/50. There wasn't a parent in the world that was prepared for that.

Kurt grabbed Ava Stinson's chart off the counter and read over it again as he walked to her room.

He knocked twice then entered the room, glancing up briefly and seeing a dark haired man in the corner. He extended a hand toward the man's turned back and began to introduce himself.

"Hi, you must be Ava's father. I'm Doctor Hummel, but you can call me Kurt. I'll be in ch-"

Kurt broke of as the man screamed, furiously trying to wipe of the cup of coffee he spilled down the front of his shirt. He could still smell the fresh cup - it must have been searing his skin.

"Sir, are you alright?" Kurt put a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm. The man jerked away like he had been electrocuted. The man turned to face Kurt.

Blaine turned to face Kurt.

Blaine.

_Well, fuck._

Kurt took a step back, opening and closing his mouth, fumbling for words. Words that he had rehearsed through his tears for when he got up the courage to call Blaine and tell him exactly how he felt. But the words were gone.

The patient, Ava, and her mother, Claire, both looked shocked and confused. But Kurt was shocked by the anger blazing in Blaine's eyes.

"No." Blaine said, his tone dripping with venom.

"What?" Kurt furrowed his eyebrows. His brain wasn't capable of processing this much all at once.

"No. I am not '_alright_'." Blaine spat out and pushed past Kurt and disappeared into the hallway.

* * *

**Well, what did you think? Send me a review, let me know, include a name, and help me out with my writing! Thanks, all!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: So here's the next chapter! Yay for finally getting it done! And in my awesomeness I have the next chapter almost done too! Cheers for motivation! And classes that require me to do nothing which allow for lots of writing time (:**

**Also I would like to thank The Devil In Me for her character Omar! I'm still looking for more names if anyone would like to contribute (:  
**

**Enjoy!  
**

* * *

"Wes, sitting there worrying isn't going to make the plane go any faster." Wes started to argue, but Sarah cut him off.

"I know, baby. I know. I love Blaine too. And that little girl. But getting over-worked isn't helping you any. Just go to sleep, it'll make the ride go by quicker."

Wes' eyes looked empty where they were rimmed with darkened skin. Sarah took his hand and put her head on his shoulder. He leaned against her in the airplane seats near the engine. The only ones open at such short notice.

"How can I possibly sleep? Ava and Claire were the best things that ever happened to Blaine. He finally got a family. He's missed so much in his life – been through so much. He can't handle this if she…" He sighed.

"How can I sleep when his world might end?"

* * *

"Uhm…"

Kurt whipped his head around, realizing that Ava and her mother were staring at him. Ava's mouth was open slightly as her eyes darted from Kurt to the door that Blaine had just disappeared out of. Claire looked shocked, but as she stared at Kurt, realization slowly dawned like the sun on her face. Her confusion turned to anger and she stood with her arms crossed.

"I think you should go." She said, her voice guarded.

Kurt was astounded. "You… Don't I even–"

"No. You don't. I've heard so much _about_ you and so little _from_ you over the years that you're only making this worse right now." Her eyes warmed a little and her grimace fell as he continued to stare at her, mouth open slightly.

"Just go. Please? It won't be good if you're still here when Blaine comes back."

Kurt nodded at her words, staring hard at the floor as he exited the room. As the door was closing, he heard the little girl finally talk.

"Mommy, who was that?" Kurt looked over his shoulder at her from the hallway. He couldn't see Claire, but he heard her respond from the other side of the room.

"Just an old friend of Daddy's."

Kurt walked away, but the conversation kept going, oblivious of the fact he had been listening.

"They're not friends anymore?" Ava asked, her brow furrowing slightly.

"No, sweetie. Not anymore." Claire sighed.

"Why not?"

Claire smiled, trying to be strong for her daughter. "Because boys are stupid. And they all have cooties."

Ava giggled and Claire hopped up into the hospital bed, pulling Ava into her arms and kissing the top of her head.

* * *

Blaine clutched his coffee where he sat in the lobby of the hospital. Based on the sun sifting through the glass wall beside him, it had been about a day and a half since he had talked to Kurt. Ava was still getting endless scans and tests (thankfully administered by nurses). Her surgery was expected to take place that afternoon. Claire had told him it was meant to be mainly exploratory, and Blaine had taken her word for it, not wanting to spend any more time with Kurt than absolutely necessary. He didn't want to talk to anyone really. He wanted to be the temperamental, angsty teenager he never was.

_How can I let one man make me feel like this?_ Blaine thought, mentally smacking himself with an attitude check.

He stood to refill his coffee cup, deciding that Ava and Claire would be awake by now, and that he would go back to wait with them for Ava to be taken into surgery.

Blaine didn't realize how completely oblivious he was to his surroundings until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Seriously, man? I flew all the way across the damn county for you, and you're just gonna ignore me like that?"

Blaine stared at the small Asian man he had called his best friend since high school.

"Wes?" Blaine was utterly dumbfounded. Was he still asleep? Was he having hallucinations from a caffeine overdose?

"Stop drooling and hug me, you moron!" Wes exclaimed, pulling Blaine into his chest. Blaine embraced his friend, glad to have someone like him in his life. He made eye contact with Sarah over Wes' shoulder. She smiled brightly and moved to hug his as Wes let go.

"Blainey!" Wes laughed, Blaine groaned.

"Sarah! They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, but then you show up again and screw it up!" Sarah cuffed him in the arm and Blaine smiled. Sarah had been one of Claire's friends, which was how Wes and Sarah had met. Blaine really did like Sarah, but they were so much alike it was hard not to tease each other.

"So where are Ava and Claire?" Wes asked, rocking back and forth on his feet with his hands in the pockets of his sweatshirt. Blaine stifled a laugh as he realized it was a Dalton sweatshirt. Some people just never grew up….

"They're upstairs. We're waiting for Ava to get taken into surgery." Blaine continued to tell Wes and Sarah about the surgery she was having. As they reached the room, Claire saw them from the other side of the window pane in the door. Her face visibly brightened as she jumped up to open the door.

Claire opened her mouth, but her greeting was lost in a sudden, high pitched screech of:

"Uncle Wes! Uncle Wes!" Ava was bouncing up and down on her bed. Wes rushed in and swept her up in a big hug.

"Hi, baby girl!" She snuggled up close to him.

"You haven't come to see us in so long." She whined as he passed her off for Sarah to hug.

"We know sweetie. And we're so sorry." Sarah replied as Ava latched on to her in a way Blaine knew meant it would be a struggle to get her to let go.

"We really are, Ava. But I was busy! See this pretty lady right here?" Wes said. Ava nodded, and he held up his left hand. "Well, I tricked her into marrying me!"

Ava laughed loudly, and Sarah set her back down on the bed. Ava pulled Sarah down to sit with her, not ready to give up her new company.

Blaine leaned over to Claire. "I'm gonna take Wes for a little bit…" Claire nodded slightly, smiling as Ava launched into the tale of the life and death of the pet fish she had over the summer.

Blaine gave Wes' sleeve a slight tug, gesturing with a nod of his head to the door. Wes followed his lead, Ava completely oblivious as she continued her whirlwind monologue. Blaine shut the door quietly behind them.

As he opened his mouth to tell Wes his own tale, he heard his own words mirrored off of Wes' lips.

"Blaine, you'll never guess who I saw the other day!"

Blaine chuckled a little darkly. "I was going to say the same to you. Who did you see?"

"Sebastian!"

Blaine snorted. "Where was he? On a pole?"

Wes laughed. "No, actually he was with his husband and their daughter. She's four."

Blaine felt like his jaw must have been grazing the floor.

"Flies with gather, Blaine. Calm yourself. Sebastian also told me Nick and Jeff have a son on the way. Nick's sister is carrying the child for them. They got married two years ago."

"Wow," Blaine said, running a hand through his curls. "Time really flies, huh?" He paused. "Wait, I thought Jeff was straight!"

"Blaine, please" Wes scoffed. "But what were you going to tell…"

Wes' eyes turned dark as they zeroed in on something down the hall over Blaine's shoulder.

"Wes?" Blaine bristled at the voice that hadn't gotten any lower since high school. He turned just in time to see a white coat disappear around the corner.

"Well… Uh…" He stammered. "Pretty much… That."

Wes stalked briskly off toward where Kurt had just disappeared.

"Wes!" Blaine called, but his friend was already gone. He pinched the bridge of his nose, realizing that things probably weren't going to go up from this point.

"Hey." An irritated voice said from behind him. He turned to see a tall, tan, dark-haired man behind him. Blaine was slightly intimidated as he realized the stranger was about a foot taller than himself.

"Who are you?" Blaine asked, shifting his weight so he was leaning as far back as possible from the muscular man as possible.

"Omar. I'm a friend of Kurt's. So _you're _the famous Blaine Anderson." Blaine stared blankly at him, keeping quiet as the only response he could think of was something along the lines of "Uhhhh…"

"So, how's that girl of yours, huh?" He asked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Blaine snapped defensively. No one had any right to say a word about his family.

"Look, asshole. All I'm saying is: don't think that I don't know about all the shit you've pulled. And I watch out for Kurt. And when Kurt comes and tells me he dumped his boyfriend, and then I here that _you're _in town?"

Blaine looked at him incredulously. He couldn't possibly think…

"I've known Kurt for a real long time. And he's been a fucking mess for as long as I have. So don't you _dare_ make this any worse than you already have."

"I haven't done any…"

"Yes you have." He interrupted. Omar's voice was surprisingly even. His eyes softened a little. "You have a baby girl with your girlfriend or wife… Kurt had no one."

"Wait, you think that Claire is… That we're…?" Blaine could practically feel his frown lines forming.

Omar shrugged. "Well, wouldn't you?"

Blaine massaged his eyes with the heels of his hands. "It's not…" Blaine broke off, realizing he was now alone in the hallway. He let the air in his lungs out slowly; deflating like a popped balloon. Because that's how he felt, really…

A popped balloon. Sinking fast…

Wes wandered the hallways that were becoming ever-more similar. Kurt obviously knew his way around much better. Wes hadn't caught him, and was now hopelessly lost. He tried turn after turn, wondering whether or not he was going in circles.

And then he saw Blaine.

His friend was leaning against the wall behind him. Arms crossed, and eyes closed; completely still. Wes walked up to him and pulled on his arm, tugging him gently along by the wrist.

"C'mon. Let's get something to eat."

* * *

Blaine and Claire walked beside Ava's bed as she was wheeled to the surgical unit. Wes and Sarah watched from the doorway of Ava's room – they hadn't been allowed to walk with the others since they weren't immediate family.

Wes was stroking Sarah's hair, her head leaned on his shoulder. Tears were falling down her face, chasing the one before down her porcelain cheeks.

"What happens if they can't fix her?" She asked, her voice a barely audible whisper.

Wes shook his head, biting his bottom lip.

"I don't know…"

* * *

**Reviews are like Darren Criss, they make me Super Mega Foxy Awesome Happy (:  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Since I always forget to do this...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee. However my birthday is this week, and I still have high hopes of getting it for a present ;)  
**

* * *

Ava's head hurt. Her mouth was dry and her eyelids were heavy. The room was very dark. As her vision became less and less blurry, she could make out the silhouettes of her parents sleeping in the plush chairs in the corner. Out of the window, she could see the full moon high in the sky. In the distance, the glow of the New York City lights. She realized how close she was to all of it. The buzz, the excitement, the life…. She sighed. She wanted to see it. To know why she, like everyone else, wanted to be there. She wanted to walk the streets, act like a tourist, see all the sights.

But instead, she looked around the off-white prison of her hospital room, and wondered if she'd live long enough to see outside of the four walls.

* * *

A knock on the door had Blaine crashing down to the floor from where he had been balanced precariously, asleep on the chair. Claire and Ava laughed as he sat up, pushing his hair out of his eyes.

The door opened to reveal Ava's nurse, Cori. She was very short, her dark hair fell to her waist. Her brown eyes were encircled by wrinkles from constant smiles. She was probably in her late forties, and was one of the sweetest people Blaine had ever known. And she was especially sweet on Ava. Sneaking her candy and taking her outside to wander around in the snow.

And Ava loved it.

"Cori!" She squealed as she entered the room. Cori hugged Ava, smiling widely. "Hi, baby girl! How're you feelin' today?" She cooed.

"I'm okay." Ava said, eyeing the tube in Cori's hand warily.

Cori looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. We have to put in another IV. But it'll be quick, I promise."

Ava chewed on the inside of her cheek, then nodded. "What a big girl!" Cori smiled at her. "When my daughter was your age, she used to _love_ to come to work with me! All the nurses and patients would _spoil_ that little girl. She's graduating high school this year! And she wants to go to medical school and…"

Ava listened raptly to the story, not even noticing when Cori slid the needle in to her arm.

"All done, baby girl!" Cori said after a while. Ava looked shocked for a moment, then smiled brightly as Cori handed her a lollipop.

Blaine stretched his back, wishing for a comfortable place to sleep in the hospital. He leaned down next to Claire. "I really need to shower again. I'm going to rent a room at the hotel across the street for the night again. I'm going to take a nap too, then I'll be back."

Claire nodded in agreement, giving Blaine the suitcase they had been living out of in the hospital. Blaine walked over to kiss Ava goodbye.

"I'll be back soon, sweetheart." He cooed. She smiled and waved goodbye.

Blaine wandered from the room, wondering what time it was and if Wes and Sarah had come back yet. And then….

He turned a corner, running flush into someone going the opposite direction.

"Oh! I'm so…" He started. But then he saw those eyes. And he spun on his heel and strode off in the other direction.

"Blaine! Wait!"

Blaine turned on his heel, and Kurt could feel the hot sting of the fire blazing in his eyes. Blaine walked back to meet him halfway down the hallway, standing inches from Kurt's face. Kurt took a deep breath, nearly knocked flat by the memories coming back to him. Laying next to Blaine in his bed, feeling his warmth, smelling the mix of his hair gel and cologne. The scent that screamed Blaine.

But Blaine smelled different now.

Blaine was different now. They weren't in high school anymore, and they had real life problems now. And one of Kurt's real life problems was so close he could feel his breath mixing with his own in the small space between their lips. But there was nothing romantic about the situation. No sexual tension. No fireworks.

There was only Blaine's red face. The muscles and veins in his face contracting and popping out.

"Wait?!" Blaine snarled. Kurt wanted to step back - to run away - but he was petrified. Rooted to the spot by failing feet and stunned to silence by a failing brain."

"Wait for what, Kurt?! Because 'wait' seems to be the only word you have for me. 'Wait while I flirt with a guy I met at a music store, wait while I lie about loving you, wait while I leave you in Lima and go to the big city without you! But wait, don't move on! Even though I'm dumping you out of nowhere, I promise to comeback! Wait by the phone for me to call, wait up at night crying over me! Wait alone while I NEVER COME BACK FOR YOU! Wait while I never even tell you why or what happened!' Well you know what, Kurt, I'm _done_ waiting. I'm done waiting for you because I know that you haven't given a fuck about me in years, and now I'm finally returning the favor. So congratulations, Kurt, you got _exactly_ what you wanted."

Kurt was shocked by Blaine's hostility. "Blaine, listen to me..." Kurt reached for his arm, and immediately knew he'd made a grave error. Blaine took several steps backwards, pulling far out of his reach.

"No, Kurt. I don't have the time for this. Because in case you haven't noticed, I have a daughter. I have a daughter who is sick and you are supposed to be helping her get better, but instead, here you are. Trying to defend yourself to me about something you did _ten years_ ago."

"So you can stand there and accuse me and yell and be pissed but I don't get to say anything to you? Wow, Blaine. You're just as immature as you were in high school." Kurt snapped back, crossing his arms defensively across his chest and popping his left hip out slightly. "You know maybe you should hear the whole story _before_ you make a fool out of yourself next time."

"No. You lost the right to tell me what to do or have any opinion on me when _you_ walked out on _me_ and didn't come back." Blaine's lips curled and his fists clenched as he turned to walk away.

Kurt stayed where he was, opening and closing his mouth, shocked at Blaine's ignorance. The hallway had long since cleared out when they started screaming at each other. Kurt ran his hand through his hair, realizing he would have to face all of his colleagues later, and that gossip about him was currently spreading like wildfire.

"I did come back." Kurt said, quietly. He knew Blaine heard him though. Blaine stopped, his body stiffening.

"W-what?" Blaine stammered, blind-sided by Kurt's statement.

"I did come back." Kurt said, finding his voice in the same hiding place as his confidence, turning the tables by striding pointedly over to Blaine.

"After a few _days_ I realized I couldn't live without you. But I was too scared to come home..."

Blaine scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, right." He tried to walk away but Kurt pulled him back. Kurt felt his eyes starting to prickle as he touched Blaine, realizing how that this was only the second time he had in ten years.

"I'm not finished." Kurt said, the pain and anger in his voice subduing Blaine for the time being. "I was scared. I didn't want to show up and find out that... That you were better off without me. And I didn't want to see you fine while I was a complete mess. But I did come back." Blaine's face was still unreadable.

"I came back six months later."

Blaine's face dawned in understanding. "How did you find out? Who told you?" He asked in a small voice.

"No one told me. I saw you at Breadstix."

"And you just assumed that..."

"What the hell was I supposed to think?!" Kurt exploded. "You were having dinner alone, holding hands with a very pregnant woman!"

"You should've - !"

"What?" Kurt spat, hoping his words stung like bees. "I should've asked you? What was I going to say?! 'Hi, Blaine. Now I know I dumped you and now I see you with this woman with child, so are you straight now?' And you can't just blame all of this on me! Get off of your high horse, Blaine Anderson, because this isn't all my fault and you know it! You could've called! Or at least _tried_ to act like you ever cared even a little bit! But you didn't!"

"You didn't call either!" Blaine yelled, wringing his hands.

Kurt laughed humorlessly. "Because you totally wanted to talk to me..."

"You didn't know that! And you didn't want to talk to me either!"

"I didn't hate you! Admit it, you hated me and you still do!"

"You left me!" Blaine screeched. His face was bright red with anger and stress.

"I DIDN'T LEAVE BECAUSE I DIDN'T LOVE YOU ANYMORE!" Kurt bellowed loud enough to disrupt the lives of everyone in the entire hospital. "I left because I didn't want to lose you forever because of the distance!"

Blaine was silent for a moment, his eyes dark and stormy. "You didn't want to lose me? Well what a great job you did at that, huh?" His voice was low and dripping with venom.

Kurt threw his hands up. "Fine. You don't want to listen, I'm _done_." He stormed toward the staff lounge, trying to hold back his tears and keep his voice steady until he was sure Blaine wouldn't see him break down.

"I want a different doctor on Ava's case." Blaine yelled after him.

And it felt like the final nail in Kurt's coffin. He was suffocating under the earth and anger.

"Fine. You don't want to see me again? Consider it done."

* * *

**Reviews? (:  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Just wanted to thank everyone who has read, reviewed, and alerted!**

**Also, I want to thank my wonderful beta - Little White Wallflower to all of you! - for putting up with me and helping me so much. You are amazing (: Just for being my beta, in the future you can be Chandler instead of Monica as long as I can still be Joey! And I take back what I said about the twins hating you! (:**

* * *

Blaine turned the hot water on full blast, ignoring his flesh screaming and reddening in protest. He let the closed, tiny bathroom fill with steam until it was verging on a sauna. He washed his hair quickly with the shampoo the hotel provided, then contented to stand with the water beating on his back and shoulder. The heat began to release the tension that had made a home in his aching muscles. It had been an entire week of stressing over Ava, worrying about her well-being and how many surgeries she would need and if she wouldn't…

Blaine shook his head. He couldn't go there. He loved Ava more than anyone in his life. But then there was that close second…

How could this all be happening? He had gotten used to the fact that he would never see Kurt again. And it was horrible. Earth-shaking, heart-shattering pain. It felt like a part of him was dying. And now…

He didn't know until now he could hurt worse than he did then…

Blaine turned the water off and stepped out of the shower, shaking off the droplets in his hair. The mirror was covered in steam, and he could just barely make out his blurred outline. Just an outline of a human, everything else completely undefined. Like some sick metaphor he couldn't quite put his finger on.

And he almost smiled… But thought better of it and stumbled to the motel room bed and laid down. Falling instantly into a fitful sleep filled with dreams of his waking nightmare.

* * *

_Blackbird singing in the dead of night…._

"Noooo." Blaine moaned. "Five more minutes!"

_Take these broken wings and learn to fly…._

He sat up, realizing someone was calling him. The clock revealed he'd only been asleep for an hour.

"Hello?" His voice was gruff with slowly receding sleep.

"Blaine." Claire's voice was flat. "You need to come back. Now."

Blaine was already out of bed, pulling on clothes and grabbing the room key. "I'm on my way."

* * *

Blaine slammed the door to Ava's room open in his rush and almost lost his balance. Claire was lying in the hospital bed with Ava, her arms wrapped around the little girl. Sarah and Wes were sitting in the chairs against the wall, and a thirty-something woman in scrubs was sitting on the windowsill with a folder in her lap. The stillness jumped to action as he entered the room.

"Daddy!" Ava brightened up. She seemed to be the only one without a chip on her shoulder… Interesting, considering she really did…

"Hey, baby girl." He smiled, hugging her to his chest, and wishing for good news. But in the back of his mind he knew it couldn't be good if Claire had called him back that quickly.

"Hi, Mr…" The doctor began, then furrowed her eyebrows. Only making it painstakingly clearer that she was very new to their case, and didn't quite understand their… Non-traditional family.

"Anderson," Blaine supplied. "But you can call me Blaine." He reached out to shake her hand.

"Hi, I'm Doctor April Caston. I'm the new surgeon assigned to Ava's case. I'd like to talk to you and Claire if that's alright."

"Of course." Claire stood and Ava looked disappointed. Wes quickly took Claire's spot and attempted to distract Ava by telling her about California.

When Blaine and Claire were in the hallway, Dr. Caston started immediately with the information. Blaine wasn't sure whether or not to be grateful for her lack of sugar-coating.

"The tumor in her spine is quite large. However, after testing it, it appears to be benign. It's around the top of her spinal cord, and since she is so young, the risks of removing it are much greater. Paralysis and death are always a risk, but it could also stunt her growth if there are complications in the surgery. As long as it isn't doing any serious damage right now, we would like to wait as long as possible to remove it. However, there are two tumors in her brain. One is in the part of her brain that holds…" The doctor faltered for a moment before continuing. It didn't go unnoticed. "…her personality and her memories. There could be complete memory loss and many other devastating outcomes if the tumor is larger than we expect when we go in. However, the other is in a location of her brain that means we can remove it with minimal risk. It's boarders are highly defined, and we would like to remove it soon, today if possible. The sooner we remove it, the sooner we can begin chemo treatments for the other tumor."

Claire's grip on Blaine's hand was growing tighter. Their glances met and she nodded a small amount.

"I can leave you two alone to make your decision…" The doctor suggested.

"No," Blaine said. "No, if it'll help we… We'll agree if she does."

"Great," Dr. Caston agreed. Her mouth was smiling reassuringly, but it didn't touch her eyes. Blaine fleetingly wondered how many families she had smiled that same smile at, and had later had to tell them the worst possible news. Beginning with that famous line of: 'we did everything we could'.

* * *

The next few hours were a blur of activity for Ava. After consenting to the surgery, and the treatment after, countless tests were run by countless nurses, each one telling Ava how brave she was.

But Ava didn't think she was brave. She thought she simply wanted to go home again.

Two hours before the surgery was scheduled, a thought that had taken root in Ava's mind a few days previously had finally grown to a bursting point. Her mother and father were sitting quietly, while Aunt Sarah read the third Harry Potter book to her. Uncle Wes had left an hour ago to take a phone call and hadn't been heard from since.

"I want to cut my hair." Ava blurted out. Everyone jumped at the sudden expulsion. Her dad's eyes hazed over slightly, and all three adults were silent.

"I don't want it to fall out… Or for there to be…spots. I want to cut it all before the surgery."

Her mom stood up and crawled into the bed next to Ava, kissing the top of her head. "My brave, brave little girl. Are you sure, sweetie?"

Ava nodded, feeling the lump in her throat rising higher. Her mom smiled at her.

"I'll talk to the nurses and see what we can do."

* * *

Ava had grown to despise the hospital bed. She was supposed to stay in it at all times…

She didn't.

She still hated it though. She was chained to it.

Literally… Her IV in her arm was connected to the bed post.

"Bye-bye, cutie." Aunt Sarah grinned, kissing Ava's cheek. "We'll go hat shopping once you get out of the hospital. Believe it or not, I've got quite the eye for fashion." She winked.

Uncle Wes walked over and rubbed her shiny head that had a slight, fine fuzz on it still. "For good luck." He whispered. She grinned up at him.

After saying goodbye to her parents, Ava was wheeled into the surgery room. An over-whelming good feeling rushed over her, and she wasn't scared at all. The good feeling meant it all would be okay…

But she went under before she realized the happy feeling was from the anesthesia.

* * *

Claire, Wes, and Sarah had all left for the hotel rooms. Blaine sat alone in the waiting room. Ava was still in surgery. The world was dead silent. No flurries of movement at three in the morning.

The air felt still, like no one was breathing. Like there was no life anywhere. Blaine hoped and prayed that wasn't true.

A disturbance from the chair next to him made Blaine jump.

"I didn't mean to scare you." Kurt whispered. "I'm sorry." The tone of his voice led Blaine on to the fact that Kurt's words held more weight than on the surface. Blaine nodded slowly.

"It's fine. It's done. And I–"

"I know." Kurt interrupted. Silence fell, the tension between them electrifying the air; breathing life back in to it.

"You know… The surgery isn't…"

"There isn't a lot of risk involved. Yeah. You're about the tenth doctor to tell me that. But strangely enough, when it's your kid, there's no such thing as 'minimal risk'." Blaine himself was surprised at how emotionless his words were.

"Right…" A pause. Then Kurt stood. Blaine saw him move closer from the corner of his eye, but unable to meet his gaze, he stared at the opposite wall.

Something warm was pushed into his hands…a coffee cup. Blaine looked up then to see Kurt's retreating back.

"What's this?" Blaine asked stupidly. His voice cracked from non-use.

Kurt smiled sadly at Blaine over his shoulder, shrugging slightly.

"A peace offering."

* * *

**Reviews would be lovely (:**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: So it's been way too long since I've updated. RL has been kicking my butt lately! Thanks to anyone still reading this, I appreciate it so much! Hopefully my next post will come a lot sooner than this one! Enjoy (:**

* * *

Sarah woke up first. Her arms were still wrapped around Claire, who had cried herself to sleep. Wes was in their room down the hall. Sarah rubbed a hand gently over her stomach, and thought about what was going to happen when she and Wes inevitably went home. Wes had lost his job that morning. Under any other circumstance, Sarah would have been secretly glad. Wes hated his job, it made him miserable. Working as an accountant in an office was killing him inside. He wanted to be a teacher. A high school music teacher.

Sarah was in the ballet. It paid well, and she loved it, but it took up so much of her life. The life she wanted to spend with Wes. But now that Wes wouldn't be making money, Sarah was the sole bread-winner. How would Wes react to her having to quit? How would they survive and raise the baby?

Sarah continued rubbing circles into her belly. Her clothes were becoming slightly tighter, but she doubted anyone would notice. She was so spindly from constant ballet practice that, now that she wasn't practicing, of course she would gain weight…

When she took the test the night before the phone call from Blaine, she couldn't wait to tell her husband when they went out to dinner for date night. But that had pretty much been shot to hell…

And the only one she wanted advice from was Claire… But how could she ask for help when Claire was the one whose world was falling apart?

How could she tell Claire she was thinking of an abortion when Claire could lose her own daughter?

Sarah wriggled away from Claire and padded to the tiny bathroom. She shut the door, sat on the edge of the bathtub, and cried silently. She had been busy comforting Claire all night, and she needed a few minutes to just fall apart.

So she sat alone, closed her eyes, and imagined someone was comforting her…

* * *

"Hummel!" Chief Thompson called to Kurt as he walked into the hospital.

"Hey, Chief!" Kurt smiled. The two of them got along quite well. And the Chief's four year old daughter adored Kurt.

Chief Thompson was in his late fifties. He'd been head of this hospital since it opened. He was one of the most sought after surgeons in the country. His while hair and pale complexion gave him an aura of wisdom.

"As much as I would love to stay and chat," the Chief remarked, "you have a patient waiting to be checked on in the ICU before she can go back to her room. And between you and me, you should probably hurry… The parents are a little… Antsy." Thompson winked and Kurt laughed, heading up to the ICU.

A nurse near the door handed Kurt a chart. He flashed her a smile and thanked her. It was always a good idea to be on the nurses' good sides.

When he opened the chart, however, he froze. This couldn't be right…

"I'm sorry, Emma?" He asked the nurse. "Are you sure this is the right chart? I'm not… I was, uh, _removed_ from this case a few days ago."

Emma shrugged, failing to contain a slightly smug smile. Guess today's your lucky day."

Kurt blushed furiously. Everyone seemed to know about his…personal issues. He felt vulnerable.

He didn't like that.

When he entered the ICU, he quickly located Ava. Ava who used to have Blaine's hair. Ava who now had no hair. Ava who was currently wearing the same angry expression Blaine had mastered.

Ava, who Kurt was slightly intimidated by.

She was sitting up, arms crossed, eyes narrowed. Her jaw was set in a way that clearly said _you've already lost this argument, give up now_.

"I don't like you." She said in place of a traditional agreement.

Kurt stayed silent. _Bite your tongue. She's just a little kid. A little, very annoying kid._

"I know you don't like me either," she pushed.

Kurt put on his best faux smile, perfected by many irritating children over many years. "Now, why would you think that?"

The tiny girl huffed angrily. "Don't talk down to me. I'm not stupid, you know. I'm not stupid."

Kurt dropped the act, and looked seriously at her. "I don't think you're stupid." Ava almost smiled at that, but she kept a straight face, only a small muscle twitch in her cheek giving her away. He continued, "I think you are…annoying. I think you are slightly – no, very – rude, but I don't think you're stupid."

Ava muttered something under her breath that sounded like "prick".

Kurt snorted. "Now, lie down and hush so I can take you back upstairs. Your parents want you back and I'm not going to deny them that. And don't tell her I said this," he leaned in and whispered into Ava's ear "but your mother really scares me."

Ava laughed, genuinely laughed. Kurt smiled; making a child laugh was one of the greatest accomplishments in life.

* * *

Claire was half asleep in the chair with Blaine. Her head was lying against his shoulder, her eyes barely open. Blaine was lost in thought. Sarah had a similarly blank expression, her hand flying to her stomach every once in awhile, as if to see if it was still there. Wes scrolled furiously through something on his computer, looking more and more irritated by the second.

All of the potential energy rocked into motion as Ava came strolling through the door; arms crossed with a smug smile tugging on the corners of her mouth. She was quickly followed by an irritated Kurt pushing a hospital bed on wheels.

"Ava! You have to get back in the bed! You're not _supposed_ to be walking around!"

Ava mimed his words with a screwed up face stuck out her tongue as she hopped lightly onto the bed. Kurt rolled his eyes, and Blaine was so amused it took him a moment to be surprised by the fact that it was Kurt who brought Ava in. He quickly dismissed it. They were on better terms now…

Right?

Kurt looked directly at Blaine and Claire. "Can I talk to you two for a moment?" he asked, gesturing towards the hallway. They both stood and followed him out. Out of the corner of his eye, Blaine saw Ava watching them intently. As soon as Kurt could no longer see her, she gingerly jumped off the bed in favor of curling up in Sarah's lap. When she saw Blaine looking at her, she smiled mischievously and pressed her index finger to her lips. Blaine winked at her and continued out the door.

"The surgery was a success." Kurt stated as soon as the door had clicked shut. Blaine let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. Claire burst into tears – something she'd been doing a lot as of late. Blaine put a hand on the small of her back to steady her. He saw Kurt's eyes narrow slightly as they flitted momentarily to the contact. But the emotion passed so quickly, Blaine was sure he must have imagined.

"We would like to give her a few days to recover, and then start chemotherapy…" More things were said, details, plans. Blaine felt removed from the situation, from the whole world. Things were better, but not…_better._

Blaine came to, feeling Claire tugging gently on his wrist. He followed her, smiling as they entered their room to the sound of Ava recounting her perilous trek back to the room, and the fire-breathing, evil glitter dragon that chased her the entire way, seeking to re-imprison her. Blaine and Claire took the other empty seats – someone had finally taken the hint and brought up a few extra chairs – and listened to her childish antics. Kurt smiled at the happy patchwork family, then silently disappeared to look in on other sick children who weren't as lucky.

* * *

Eventually, Ava talked herself out. She snoozed in Blaine's lap and he scratched her back and arms gently. Her face was so peaceful, other than a few times where her eyebrows would knit together for a moment before sliding back to calmness. Blaine wondered what she was dreaming about.

Wes and Sarah helped Claire out of the room not long after that. She was so tired she could hardly walk straight. Blaine watched them go, and wondered what time it was. The curtains were closed and his phone had long since died. Time had lost all meaning anyway.

Ava didn't stir as Blaine carried her back to the bed and tucked her in. He contented himself to read a book Sarah had left. Half an hour and six unabsorbed chapters later, Blaine still had no clue what the book was about. As he flipped through the rest of the pages, trying to recall a single character name, the quietest knock sounded on the door. Blaine glanced up, expecting Wes or Sarah.

But it was Kurt.

Blaine shuffled quietly out of the door to meet him. "Is something wrong?" He asked, alarmed.

Kurt's eyes widened. "No, no!" He flailed, "everything's fine. Er – well."

Blaine hummed in agreement, nodding and gesturing for Kurt to continue.

"I, well… I was just checking to see if she was awake. I thought you all would have gone home – or, wherever – by now. I just…I didn't want her to be alone for too long or…wake up by herself or anything." Kurt stared at the floor, shuffling his feet around in discomfort.

Blaine felt his heart melt a little. "That's sweet," he said quietly. Kurt blushed and wrapped his arms around himself, rocking up onto his toes and back to his heels, trying to find a way to diffuse the tension.

"So," Blaine made an attempt at breaking the silence. "Don't you ever leave this place?"

Kurt smiled, looking up through his long lashes. "Well I could say the same to you. You're here as much as I am."

"I guess you're right," Blaine remarked. The crushing silence was threatening to creep back over the awkward pair. Neither one wanting to say the wrong thing. Walking on eggshells.

"Well, I'm replace the both of you." A nurse bustled past them into the room with a blanket and a wrapped up needle for blood testing.

"Emma you don't have to stay," Blaine whispered kindly. Kurt was impressed he had stopped to learn her name. But then again, it was Blaine.

"Blaine you haven't left her bedside in two days. You need sleep." She paused, "and a shower." The trio chuckled quietly. "And Kurt, the Chief said if you don't get out of here until your shift later, he's forcing you to go on a weekend vacation."

Kurt shuddered. A weekend...at home...alone. He wasn't going down that road.

"Alright, thank you Emma. I'll see you later today." Kurt replied and Emma waved him away, closing Blaine and himself in the hallway...together.

An uncomfortable silence lasted for a moment or a year, pushing Kurt past the point of no return.

"Doyouwannagoeatbreakfastwith me?" Kurt said, quickly launching into a full blown monologue. "Because I was just thinking you might want some company and I don't have to be back until later and I was going to go anyway and I thought you might…"

"Kurt," Blaine tried to cut in before he died of oxygen deprivation.

Kurt sighed inwardly to himself. _Way to go, Kurt. You idiot! Now he's never going to…_

"Where should we go?" Blaine asked, leaning quickly back inside the hospital room to grab a coat off of the pegs on the back of the door and pulling it on.

_Oh…_ Kurt thought, trying to maintain some dignity as he formulated a response.

"Well…There's this place down the street with really good pancakes if you want something sweet…" Kurt trailed off.

Blaine turned back to look at him, his dark eyebrows jumping up into his messy curls. "Kurt Hummel? In a pancake house? My, how things have changed."

_He's making jokes about what happened. That's good, right? _Kurt realized he was taking too long to answer.

"They have organic stuff, too. It hasn't been long enough for that big of a change." Kurt replied as he led Blaine through the endless hallways he practically lived in, occasionally tugging gently on Blaine's sleeve when he went the wrong way.

"And how long exactly would a change of such magnitude take?" Blaine joked.

Kurt thought for a moment. "Rebirth." He answered firmly, nodding to himself as Blaine chuckled.

A blast of cold air confronted them as the automatic doors retracted. Blaine tightened his scarf around his neck, tying it around his head and leaving only his eyes exposed. "Uh ma 'inja" he mumbled through the fabric.

Kurt laughed at his childish humor. "C'mon, the resteraunt's right around the corner."

* * *

**A/N: Shoot me a review! Reviews and Glee tonight will just make my day (:**


End file.
